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St. Knut's Day
St. Knut's Day celebrated on January 13th, and marks the official end of the Christmas season. This is the day when the Christmas decorations are taken off the tree and the tree is literally thrown out, if it was not done so already. Who is St. Knut? There were two Canutes that are important in the story of St. Knut. The first Canute, Canute IV and was a King of Denmark. He was also known as Canute the Holy and is the patron saint of Denmark. He is the uncle to Cannure Lavard, and is often associated with him, whom the feast is named after. King of Denmark Canute IV was born 1043, and died 10 July 1086 and the king of Denmark from 1080-1086. He succeeded his brother as king and kept a close association with the church. On matters concerning churches, he treated them very kindly, and supported apostolic preaching in Denmark. However, in other matters, he attempted to enforce taxes in support of the church, which angered the aristocracy. The aristocrats who opposed this revolted as he way preparing to go to England. He fled to St. Alban's Church and was assassinated there."Canute IV | King of Denmark." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 23 Nov. 2015. . Duke of Schlewig Canute (or Knud in Danish) Lavard was a Danish prince, and later the first Duke of Schlewig. He was born 12 March 1096, and died 7 January 1131. He was the only legitimate son of Eric I of Denmark, but was bypassed in the election of 1104 to be King. In 1115, King Niels of Denmark placed him in charge of Schleswig in order to stop the attacks on the Slavic Obotrites. Canute had a close bond with the Emperor of Rome, Emperor Lothair III, this caused the Danish princes and to question his loyalty, especially when it was apparent he could be a possible successor to the Danish King."Canute Lavard." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 23 Nov. 2015. . He was assassinated by his cousin, Magnus the Strong on 7 January 1131. Why January 13? Canute Lavard died on 7 January 1131, that is his feast day, which does not align with the day it is celebrated. St. Knut's Day can also be called, "Tjugondag Knut" which means "Twentieth Day of Knut." Sometime in the 1600s, the celebration that took place on 7 January was moved to 13 January, and ever since then, it has remained on the 13th."St. Knut's Day." The Free Dictionary. Web. 23 Nov. 2015. . Celebration in Sweden As the official end of the Christmas season, this celebration can be bitter-sweet. Children often invite their friends over, there is eating, dancing, and singing. The parents pack up the delicate ornaments that decorated the tree, and the children eat the cookies that were used to decorate the tree. After the Christmas Tree is rendered back to a regular tree again, it is thrown out; tradition suggest through an open window, but sometimes they are gathered together and set on fire."St. Knut's Day." Encyclopedia of Christmas and New Year\'s Celebrations, 2nd ed.. 2003. Omnigraphics, Inc. 23 Nov. 2015. . In the past, men and boys would often dress up as scarecrows, goats, or "old Knut." They would go out trying to scare people and play pranks on them."Twelfth Night and Knut." Swedish King Knut's Day. Web. 22 Nov. 2015. . In the 1980s and 1990s, it turned into a little bit like trick-or-treating, with kids dressing up in scary costumes and asking for treats.Reuterswärd, Kate. "St. Knut’s Day (Tjugondag Knut): The Most Confusing and Least-appreciated Swedish Holiday Ever." The Expat Blog Blogsswedense. 15 Jan. 2012. Web. 22 Nov. 2015. . References